Mothering moments ~ May 7- 11th

Okay so it's November... I have a couple of weeks to catch up the entire year until I do my Christmas letter. The pressure is on! Let's see what I can recall...

Here is a sweet little outfit that Nora received when she was 2, on our friend Megumi's return from Japan. It finally fit her waist-wise, but I'm guessing it's a wee bit short! Nora actually wore this to preschool one day too, with many compliments given. Probably caused a wee bit of confusion also. :)

We kept busy with regular visits to Grandpa in hospital, although taking Nora was always a guaranteed shorter visit. (Picture her touching every surface... good thing she enjoyed dispensing her own hand sanitizer.)

 The perks of being little ~ snuggling in tight spaces.

Prompting Lewis for a photo prior to his last band concert at middle school brought to mind the same degree of irritation his older brothers had expressed. Adolescence is approaching.

Friday morning was a special Mother's Day tea at preschool. The children sang several songs for us which Nora enjoyed participating in, even if she's a beat behind with her words and does things in front of everyone like pull the lining out of her pockets. :) Her favourite song was about The seed in the ground in the garden bed, so we had many renditions of "Oh, this I know... everything changes as it grows!", a very sweet sentiment. Unfortunately it became copied and distorted by her older brothers. I truly wonder how she will ever grow up normally! ;)

 Enjoying a snack together.

That evening, with most of the family present, we went out for Me & Ed's pizza to celebrate Mother's Day. (It's pretty rare to have both James and Charles around at the same time... James is easier to tempt with our company if a meal out is included.)

 Techie boys tolerate touching for my sake.

 Thomas tolerates me likewise. I take what I can get...

 And Nora.... depends on her mood!

Sunday morning was time for a quick family shot... not our best one, but?!

 And now we're missing James... he attends his own church at a later time.

 The classiest couple I know ~ Scott's Mom and Dad.

And lastly, the little girl who reminds me that I am a mother(still in progress) every day. I don't always feel like a very good one, but I definitely feel like a loved one. Nora has changed my life forever, and I'm blessed to have such a precious gift like her to be my daughter.

~For finding you mother, there's one certain test.

You must look for the creature who loves you the best.

              ---David Kirk (Little Miss Spider)

Spring pleasantries ~ Apr. 23-30th

I truly don't know if anyone looks at this family blog anymore, but I don't blame you as it's horrendous in how long it's been since I've added to it. Life has continued to be too busy as we had a very full summer, and then went into having the main floor of the house painted, which has brought basically a month of chaos. But I refuse to give up here, so it's back to April. It was mellow in general this year, as I was attempting to keep it given the ongoing saga of Dad's hospitalization and doing steady evening shifts at that time. I was in the "nest" when I could be...

Here was Nora enjoying her preschool unit on dirt and worms. We showed up for a parent-teacher kind of conference which was going well, until 3 feet from us, a classmate did some projectile vomiting that landed literally on my boots. Then he proceeded to stay... I knew an illness would be inevitable for Nora. At least she only got a cold. Oh the joys!

Back at home, I tried to make an effort to see the blossoming season around us, as gardening this year seemed to be out of the question. Every year it's like seeing returning friends as the shrubs transform, and it's important to slow down to appreciate the beauty. Rosie knows...

 Just in case Nora felt like gardening,
 I gave her a set of miniature tools for the yard...

Rosie likes to chase the boys as they ride their bikes in the cul-de-sac, but sometimes they've just had enough of that. Being leashed at least brings momentary calmness. Nora has the beach chair set up just for lounging...

Below is evidence that sometimes all you need is a bike, and an ounce of silliness, to make you happy...

Lewis put his creative juices to work with the annual Gr. 7 Egg Drop. The classes are challenged to create a contraption that will protect your egg from cracking when it is thrown off the school roof. This year's theme was cartoon characters, so he chose Mike Yasowski from Monsters Inc. for his nice round shape... great for suspending an  egg cage of bamboo skewers.

The day of the drop, Nora was just let out of preschool so we were able to watch Lewis and his friends unaware. Was fun seeing all the creativity, and quite messy too!

 The vice-principal tosses each one.

 Lewis is hoping his design comes through...

 A fast-forwarded version of the event... it broke. :(

Something totally different, but creative as well, was receiving back the quilt I made for Charles' graduation. I was very pleased with the wave pattern expertly machine-quilted, and I'm sure Charles will enjoy it as it is extra thick with 2 middle layers. Things always seem to take longer than I plan, but the main thing is that it's done. Now I get a two year break before I seek inspiration to make Thomas' grad quilt. (For some reason, books keep coming to mind...)

 The label reveals the heart of the quilt...

The twin size quilt that just kept growing...

... but Charles has been doing that too!

Easter with Ann ~ Apr.18th-22nd

The real highlight of this year's week surrounding Easter was a nine-day visit from my sister Ann, coming from Winnipeg to spend time with Dad during his hospitalization. We spent most of our visiting time in hospital, but thankfully it feels like I see Ann often because we have great phone calls together.

 Dad's personal ray of sunshine, Ann was able to give him a lot of TLC
 while enjoying some great times of reminiscing and reflection together.

 With her similar sense of humour as Dad, he and the nursing staff
 totally enjoyed Ann's contribution to Easter dinner!

Easter Monday was our time to have Ann to ourselves, as she has quite a round of loving friends and extended family that enjoy her as well. We especially wanted to celebrate her recent birthday from Saturday.

Picking up where I left off the last blog entry.... it was time for my nieces to join the chocolate frenzy. With too many mini-chocolate eggs hidden in the greenspace I figured the rabbits would enjoy the ones they may not find. (And they or the birds did find some later, as evidenced by the scraps of wrapper left behind.)

 Kieren is always enthusiastic~

 Nora holds her own in keeping up with the big kids.

 I'm glad that no one is too old for this yet...

 ... but with chocolate involved, I would be there in a minute if no one was looking.

 When in doubt, use a rake...

 Kailey is getting so tall!

 The prize, which in the end I hid from her.

 Charles and girlfriend Margarita, always nice to see together.

 Kellie and Scott~ he comes through for me with preparing
our meal, once again. (With help from Costco.) Love this guy!

 Sadly, this is more my cooking style~

Birthday time for Ann ~ it was so gracious of her family to allow her to be away to spend her special day with us.

 The Newsham gathering, minus Dad, but we were surely thinking of him.

 So many choices~

 Always near the desserts!

 Everything seems better when we're together.

 And this makes it even better. I hope when we're retired we can all live
 close by and reminisce. Rob and Ann remember all the stories, so I won't
 want them too far from me. Wish life was less busy. :(

Ann's last night with us, we all trickled into Dad's hospital room, hanging out during his dressing change! The RN was most obliging in taking a family photo. We won't be together again until August, when Ann and her family will be visiting. Looking forward to that already, especially because in real time that is less than 2 weeks now. :) Time flies when you get behind on blogging... Thanks for your visit Ann.

 The best slice of life, sweetness in a happy loving family.

 Ann keeps her camera nearby... trying to update Dad on his blog.

 It's our only way to show him the wacky comics I've found.
No matter what, Dad is the happiest patient I've ever seen.

 Guess I'll never be a real writer... my family is too nice. :)